PERRY, Ga. (Court TV) — A woman charged with murder in the death of her 2-year-old son took the stand on Wednesday and vehemently denied ever harming her child.
Kianna Davis testifies on July 15, 2026. (Court TV)
“Was this child ever harmed, hurt or injured by you or in your presence?” Kianna Davis’ attorney, Jeffrey Grube, asked her. “No,” she responded, as she started to cry.
Karter Ambrose was rushed to his pediatrician’s office on Nov. 17, 2020, by Davis’ boyfriend, Kiyon Benton. Benton had been caring for the child that day while Davis was at work — she worked as an industrial aide, running technology in high school classes offered through the Central Georgia Technical College curriculum. Benton has been charged separately in the case and has pleaded not guilty.
Nurses and other employees who worked at the pediatric office described seeing the lifeless child come in that day; they were unable to restore his breathing and he was sent by ambulance to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy determined that the toddler suffered blunt force injury to his abdomen that caused a fatal laceration to his liver.
Davis testified on Wednesday in her own defense, conceding that the child was in her custody the weekend before his death. After picking him up from daycare on Friday, the two joined Benton and spent the weekend together. Investigators said that Karter would have had to have suffered the fatal injuries in the three days leading up to his death.
Davis denied any accidents happening or Karter getting hurt in any way, but said that on Sunday evening he did complain of a stomachache. “He was pointing at one point, saying, ‘My stomach hurts,’ and that’s all.” The child threw up once overnight, but Davis said she didn’t feel the need to seek medical care.
By Monday evening, Karter was lifeless. Davis was at work when Benton called to tell her to come to the pediatrician’s office because her son was sick.
Prosecutor Justin Duane challenged Davis’ recollection of events, reminding the defendant that she had previously referred to her son as a “crybaby.” “He’s a crybaby in the sense of he would tell me or he would cry if something was wrong,” she testified. “He was not crying, he was not crouching over, he was not holding his stomach. He was not doing anything except for saying, ‘Mommy, stomach hurt,’ and vomiting juice.”
At the time of Karter’s death, Davis was in a court battle with the boy’s father, Kadeem Ambrose, who testified that on the day of his son’s death, Davis wouldn’t allow him to see the child. “He was annoying me, so I blocked his number,” Davis explained. “He could still contact me via email, or he could call my child’s tablet.”
In interviews with police, and again from the witness stand, Davis maintained that not only did she not hurt her son, but that there was no way Benton had, either. “I stand by my statements that no one around me would ever harm my child.” But she struggled to answer when Duane confronted her.
“Who would have done it if the only two people are he and you?” the prosecutor asked.
“That is a good question,” Davis replied.
Davis’ defense emphasized her behavior after Karter’s death as further evidence of her innocence, saying that she stayed in contact with investigators. “I was constantly calling in” for updates, she said, but the officers were never available and never got back to her.
Davis faces a potential life sentence if she’s convicted of malice murder, felony murder, and aggravated assault in her son’s death.
